The initiative fallacy

The initiative fallacy revolves around the idea that initiative is a trait we are born with. That is nonsense. Initiative is developed, one small act at a time.

For those interested, here is an action plan to develop initiative. Today, pick one small thing you wouldn’t normally have done – asking for something at a store that you wouldn’t have asked, planning a small thoughtful gift for a partner or friend, organizing a weekend activity, or even signing up for a new activity.

Repeat for 24 days (24 is arbitrary – just so you have no easy excuse to postpone it) and send me an email on rohan at rohanrajiv dot com to tell me how you feel about taking initiative.

Initiative is a habit. Like all habits, allow it to gain momentum and it will be unstoppable and addictive. It is a beautiful thing.

One last thing – another piece of the initiative fallacy is that initiative requires confidence. Again, that’s nonsense. Confidence is just a lazy out. We don’t need more confidence, we need more commitment. More unwavering commitment results in more confidence and the confidence built on commitment is the kind that lasts anyway.